The Commission in partnership with UN_Women Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development and @CSBAGUGANDA
held a Dialogue on Financing for Gender Equality and Development on 19th April 2023 at Sheraton Hotel.
The Policy Dialogue was held under the theme “The impact of the national budgets on the delivery of Gender Equality and Reducing Vulnerabilities to accelerate the achievement of the NDP III targets & SDGs”.
The focus was on accelerating the implementation of NDP III and Sustainable Development Goals, with the need to prioritize Gender Equality and Vulnerability reduction through budget allocations.
The Chairperson of the Commission, Hon. Safia Nalule Juuko presented findings from the Commission that highlighted funding gaps such as:
- Reduction of the Agro-Industrialisation Budget from 1,666.9 billion (FY 2022/23) to 1,329 Billion in 2023/24.
- Eviction of poor people from their land especially in the Buganda Region.
- The availability of equipment and teachers to promote science teaching is highly limited, despite Sciences being a priority area for the Government
- Uganda’s health sector remains significantly underfunded, mainly
relying on private sources of financing, especially out-of-pocket spending. At 9.6 % of total government expenditure, public spending
on health is far below the Abuja target of 15% that GoU committed to. - High cost of education
- Limited funding towards management of Externalization of Labour.
- Financing Road Safety Measures to reduce the high rate of Road Accidents
- Low investment in employment-led ventures which has propelled youth unemployment
- The plight of ethnic minorities; The Ugandan Constitution currently recognizes 67 ethnic groups and yet there are other ethnic minorities that are not
recognized. They are denied National IDs, which affects their access to essential social services. - Inadequate Financing towards cancer treatment; The burden of cancer in the country is projected to reach 40% in 2030 due to
changes in risk factors and population growth rate.
Measures Taken by EOC to Enforce GEB
i. The Commission has engaged with all the representatives of the vulnerable persons and profiled the needs of each constituency.
ii. The Commission has had a series of Engagements with the various Committees of Parliament on the enforcement of compliance with gender and equity requirements for non-compliant MDAs.
iii. The Commission has severally summoned non-compliant MDAs and made commitments with them to address issues of concern.
iv. The Commission has also developed a series of guidelines on gender and equity planning and budgeting. Plans are underway to develop more vote-specific guidelines.
v. The Commission has also supported various MDAs and built staff capacity in Gender and Equity Planning and Budgeting.
vi. Annually assessed the MPSs and BFPs for Compliance with G&E
Recommendations by the Commission:
i. All MDAs with the support of the Uganda Bureau of Statistics should embrace data disaggregation at all levels and with respect to Gender & Equity
ii. Parliament should invoke its powers and enforce sections 78 and 79 of the PFMA with respect to Gender & Equity
iii. GoU should fulfill its commitment under the Maputo Protocol of appropriating 15% of its National Budget towards Health Care. This will help in addressing a number of Health
Gaps that relate to gender and equity issues.
iv. MDAs should commit to redressing imbalances which exist through the allocation of financial resources to specific measures
as provided for in the PFMA, 2015.
v. GoU should enhance funding for agriculture, education, and Health including solving the land eviction question.
vi. MDAs with support from UBOS and EOC should endeavor to disaggregate their data.
vii. Introduce the Gender Aware Statement under the Public Budgeting System